The other poster on the first page had it correct. As long as people are willing to pay, the tuition will go up. And the incomes of the top 1% has skyrocked relative to the rest of society, even the second 1% below them. They are the ones who dominate the private schools, so we have a scenario where even the 2nd 1% are now being priced out whereas 20 years ago they could easily afford the schools.

It's a scenario that feeds upon itself. The schools are now increasingly geared towards catering to the desires of the 1% so they spend fortunes on fancy campus improvements and facilities because the very rich demand those, which in turns causes them to raise tuitions to pay for those facilities. 20 years ago people were much more content with a less fancy, less extravagant campus (the same can be said for colleges).

I agree with this, as someone whose kid is in a NWDC private, and who is in the top ~10% of income for the District. (vs. nationally, which is much lower).

One thing people don't talk about much is the "barbell" effect at the most competitive and expensive schools: Sidwell for sure, Maret, and I believe STA (don't know about NCS). GDS is a little different thus far in this regard, but I bet cash money that with their foray into Big Developer-meet-facilities arms race, GDS will join these ^ schools. Sidwell was the earliest entrant into this weird demographic distribution, probably owning to its [now subsumed] Quaker values.

The school's population looks like this




with the two red bumps representing the very wealthy, big donors on the left, and the underserved, deserving, and absolutely needs a lot of financial aid group on the right.

The middle is hollowed out. i.e., the families that don't qualify for / receive only token FA, but for whom $41,000 x 3 kids is just not happening.

I'm certain -- because I lived here and attended one of the schools I listed above -- that more "professional" couple's kids attended these schools in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Anonymous wrote:

Wake-up ignorant people! STA is an Episcopal school and provides an episcopal education. Boys have regular religion class, read the bible and go to mass regularly. There are a few differences, but not that dramatic. If you are concerned about the "dogma" the Prep boys are receiving then you should be similarly concerned about the "dogma" the STA boys are receiving.

No, You could not be more inaccurate in each and every one of your claims. Episcopal schools, and that certainly DOES include STA and NCS, are bastions of a balanced and un-biased approach to education that is tolerant and open-minded. Episcopal schools have always sustained a strong commitment to rigorous academic inquiry. Episcopal schools welcome students of all faiths or no faith at all. The central hallmark of Episcopal education is its commitment to the life of the mind and spirit, a partnership between reason and faithful inquiry. STA doesn't require its students "read the bible." They study the bible and study religions of all kinds. It is an inclusive study of religion and an inclusive interpretation of Christianity as a whole. Episcopal schools are meant to be broadly based, seeking to educate without regard to religious affiliation. Many of the top institutions of learning in this country were founded by the Episcopal Church including William and Mary, Columbia University, and a large number of the top boarding schools.

Further, PP, you are clearly unaware that there is a perduring local character to Anglicanism as it has developed globally, with each church and school governing its own affairs while taking periodic counsel with others. It is something of a bottom-up kind of management, rather than top-down hierarchy akin to the Catholic church with its Popes and Bishops and centralized rules and procedures that are not changed or challenged for centuries and rule over every church and school within its sphere. This is WHY people have issues with Catholic schools and rightly question these schools' education and academics. Regardless of their local affiliations, to Jesuits, or Convent of the Scared Heart, Augustinian, Benedictine or Franciscan, or even Opus Dei, they are all still ruled by the hierarchy of the Catholic church and its pervasive dogma.

The ability to see diversity as a blessing to be celebrated, rather than a curse to be expunged or denied, is central to the ethos of Episcopal education. It is one of the fundamental reasons why people of other religious traditions, and none, seek out Episcopal schools.

You, PP, have some reading and research to do.

Wow. You really don't now anything about Catholic schools.

Yes, it is about time that the DC ISs committed to a two-year moratorium on any further tuition increases.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell's tuition for 2015-16:

Lower School $37,750

Middle and Upper Schools $37,750

And tuition is set to go even higher for next year, 2016-17.

Meanwhile, one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (gr. 7-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-17:

Tuition $35,900

http://www.hw.com/admission/Affording-HW


And another one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (a K-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-2017. Note particularly the difference at the Primary/Elementary and Middle Schools level.

Grades K-5 = $26,400
Grades 6-8 = $30,900
Grades 9-12 = $34,800

http://www.polytechnic.org/Page/Admission/Fees-and-Financial-Aid

Los Angeles has a much greater concentration of wealth (both in absolute numbers, and in the amount of wealth) than the DC area, and is a more expensive area in which to live. So I continue to be perplexed as to how DC IS's can justify these continued tuition increases year over year.

Because it is a more educated city on average, and people here put a higher value on education, specifically prestigious education, versus LA.

Your analysis does not explain the difference in tuition between L.A.'s best private schools (higher cost of living, more wealth, but lower tuition) and those in D.C. (lower cost of living, less wealthy, but higher tuition).

Washington, D.C. has a population of about 673,000 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Washington,_D.C.). Fairfax County, VA, has a population of about 1,150,000 (http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/51059,00). And Montgomery County, MD, has a population of about 1,050,000 million. (http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/24031,51059,00). So approximately 2,825,000 people live in the immediate DC metro area, as defined by Washington, DC, Montgomery County, MD, and Fairfax County, VA. Additionally, Fairfax County, VA, and Montgomery County, MD, both have exceptionally strong public school alternatives to the Independent Schools.

Los Angeles County alone has more than 10 million people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County,_California). Therefore L.A. County has more than 7 million more people living there, than live in the immediate DC metro area.

So even accepting your assumption that D.C. "is a more educated city on average", there are still more educated people, as an absolute number, living in Los Angeles. And the public school alternatives in L.A., on average, are not as strong as the public schools alternatives here, and have to serve a much larger population.

So with both a higher number of educated people, less competition from the public school alternatives, more wealth, and a higher cost of living, you would expect that the top L.A. private schools would be more expensive than those here in D.C. And yet, they are not.

Anonymous wrote:I find it so hypocritical that schools that espouse "progressive" values such as Sidwell, basically limit their product to those that can afford $20,000+ in tuition.

Why? Progressive education has nothing to do with the HHI of its proponents. Progressive in the educational sense means open and welcoming of different ways to approach knowledge and education. It doesn't mean open to poor and lower income people.

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell's tuition for 2015-16:

Lower School $37,750

Middle and Upper Schools $37,750

And tuition is set to go even higher for next year, 2016-17.

Meanwhile, one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (gr. 7-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-17:

Tuition $35,900

http://www.hw.com/admission/Affording-HW


And another one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (a K-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-2017. Note particularly the difference at the Primary/Elementary and Middle Schools level.

Grades K-5 = $26,400
Grades 6-8 = $30,900
Grades 9-12 = $34,800

http://www.polytechnic.org/Page/Admission/Fees-and-Financial-Aid

Los Angeles has a much greater concentration of wealth (both in absolute numbers, and in the amount of wealth) than the DC area, and is a more expensive area in which to live. So I continue to be perplexed as to how DC IS's can justify these continued tuition increases year over year.

Because it is a more educated city on average, and people here put a higher value on education, specifically prestigious education, versus LA.

Anonymous wrote:I find it so hypocritical that schools that espouse "progressive" values such as Sidwell, basically limit their product to those that can afford $20,000+ in tuition.

You are off by a factor of 2. But I get your meaning.

Anonymous wrote:+1 But tuition at Sidwell is $38,000 - even more ridiculous based on their values.

I am not understanding this. The school has students from a wide variety of income levels, but I am not sure how one would expect it to be all lower and middle income students without an endowment north of $300 million. Why would Sidwell be singled out over any other independent school?

+1 But tuition at Sidwell is $38,000 - even more ridiculous based on their values.

Sidwell's tuition for 2015-16:

Lower School $37,750

Middle and Upper Schools $37,750

And tuition is set to go even higher for next year, 2016-17.

Meanwhile, one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (gr. 7-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-17:

Tuition $35,900

http://www.hw.com/admission/Affording-HW


And another one of L.A.'s "Big 3" (a K-12) has already set the following tuition for 2016-2017. Note particularly the difference at the Primary/Elementary and Middle Schools level.

Grades K-5 = $26,400
Grades 6-8 = $30,900
Grades 9-12 = $34,800

http://www.polytechnic.org/Page/Admission/Fees-and-Financial-Aid

Los Angeles has a much greater concentration of wealth (both in absolute numbers, and in the amount of wealth) than the DC area, and is a more expensive area in which to live. So I continue to be perplexed as to how DC IS's can justify these continued tuition increases year over year.

I find it so hypocritical that schools that espouse "progressive" values such as Sidwell, basically limit their product to those that can afford $20,000+ in tuition.

To 13:44. My bold loving fellow PP.

If you have to "study" the Bible, then you have to read the Bible!

Quoted from STA curriculum description:

"Students read and discuss the great stories of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures to learn about the formative events and individuals in the history of the Hebrew people. While the course pays attention to the entire canon of Holy Scripture with its depiction of the unfolding of the covenantal relationship between God and God’s people, we focus on the creation and salvation stories found in the books of Genesis and Exodus."

Episcopal Church may not believe in the Pope, but they do have Bishops and Cardinals.

A Catholic education has always been extremely well regarded throughout the world. US Universities include Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame, Boston College, Villanova, etc. Just FYI - Columbia University and William and Mary are no longer affiliated with the Episcopal religion.

Catholic schools also welcome students of other faiths. Many students choose Catholic school because it is the best education and not because they are Catholic. And shocker, some people have an open mind about other religions (including the Catholic faith) even though they are not catholic. At my Catholic school we also studied other religions and even celebrated/participated in a Seder every year at school.

As quoted from the Busted Halo website a description of similarities/differences between C and E:

"Belief-wise, Episcopalians (Anglicans) uphold and proclaim the Catholic and Apostolic faith, based on the same creeds and scripture, and interpreted in the light of Christian tradition, scholarship, and reason. They recognize seven sacraments (the same sacraments as the Catholic Church) and hold roughly the same moral values as Catholics with a few exceptions."

Again, they are not the same but similar in many ways. A Catholic education has long been well regarded around the world. Many top schools are founded by the Catholic faith. The Catholic haters on this board should be embarrassed about their discriminatory beliefs.

Tuition isn't going up just because parents will pay it. One regular item of increase that should be expected from any school is an annual inflation increase -- a school's expenses are going up too and tuition is raised at a minimum to keep pace. Yes, annual tuition increases at some schools outpace tuition, but not all -- some schools have tuition increases that are in the range of published increases in the cost of living (CPI). Salaries are a huge part of a school's costs, and of course those go up by a bit each year. Tuition increases to track % increases in the cost of living are reasonable and should be expected.

Some schools though have things that push revenue needs higher than CPI increases, such as expensive building projects or simply more buildings/facilities (which necessitate increased operating and capital expenses). The schools are all 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, so they don't pay any property tax; however, they still have expenses of regular for-profit businesses, like salaries, insurance, building upkeep, and utility expenses (none of which are deductible, as a nonprofit org). If the school has a large and/or expensive-to-maintain campus, but a relatively small number of tuition-paying students, they're going to have to increase tuition relative to their peers in order to maintain the campus and facilities.

My guess is that the market will support rising tuition for the top schools. However, some of the smaller private schools that don't offer as much value for the $ may struggle to keep enrollment high enough over time to continue, and those schools often may not have as large an endowment either to help during the hard times. The economy plays a role as well. For example, some privates in Maryland have seen enrollment decline with the economy as families moved to public schools. Unless those schools have a target niche (ie learning differences at McLean), it's hard to expect parents to pay astronomically high tuition with the justification that the tuition is on par with their competitors. obviously value for the $ is very subjective. And you could see enrollment rise at some of the Catholic privates that have lower tuitions.

Wake-up ignorant people! STA is an Episcopal school and provides an episcopal education. Boys have regular religion class, read the bible and go to mass regularly. There are a few differences, but not that dramatic. If you are concerned about the "dogma" the Prep boys are receiving then you should be similarly concerned about the "dogma" the STA boys are receiving.

No, You could not be more inaccurate in each and every one of your claims. Episcopal schools, and that certainly DOES include STA and NCS, are bastions of a balanced and un-biased approach to education that is tolerant and open-minded. Episcopal schools have always sustained a strong commitment to rigorous academic inquiry. Episcopal schools welcome students of all faiths or no faith at all. The central hallmark of Episcopal education is its commitment to the life of the mind and spirit, a partnership between reason and faithful inquiry. STA doesn't require its students "read the bible." They study the bible and study religions of all kinds. It is an inclusive study of religion and an inclusive interpretation of Christianity as a whole. Episcopal schools are meant to be broadly based, seeking to educate without regard to religious affiliation. Many of the top institutions of learning in this country were founded by the Episcopal Church including William and Mary, Columbia University, and a large number of the top boarding schools.

Further, PP, you are clearly unaware that there is a perduring local character to Anglicanism as it has developed globally, with each church and school governing its own affairs while taking periodic counsel with others. It is something of a bottom-up kind of management, rather than top-down hierarchy akin to the Catholic church with its Popes and Bishops and centralized rules and procedures that are not changed or challenged for centuries and rule over every church and school within its sphere. This is WHY people have issues with Catholic schools and rightly question these schools' education and academics. Regardless of their local affiliations, to Jesuits, or Convent of the Scared Heart, Augustinian, Benedictine or Franciscan, or even Opus Dei, they are all still ruled by the hierarchy of the Catholic church and its pervasive dogma.

The ability to see diversity as a blessing to be celebrated, rather than a curse to be expunged or denied, is central to the ethos of Episcopal education. It is one of the fundamental reasons why people of other religious traditions, and none, seek out Episcopal schools.

You, PP, have some reading and research to do.